France Wants Age-Of-Consent Rule For Facebook Users

Depending on where you live, there are different age restrictions for different things. In some countries, you can drink when you’re 18, while other countries might require that you’re 21. This is also true of online services. Users need to be of a certain age to be able to use services without parental consent.

In France, the government is proposing an age-of-consent rule. This would mean that all teens and children below the age of 16 would need to get consent from their parents to open an account on Facebook or any other form of social media.

Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet says that this consent could come in the form of a checkbox that users have to tick to confirm approval, and that it can be considered a declaration governed by law. But really, how enforceable would this law be? Right now there doesn’t seem to be any kind of age-gate that really keeps people out. Sometimes all users have to do is click “Enter” or “I Agree” even if it isn’t true. Or when asked to enter their date of birth, users can put in anything they want. So this seems kind of silly.

The bill is still pending approval from parliament, so it isn’t a law that has come into effect yet. We will see what happens.